Decreased GABA receptor in the cerebral cortex of epileptic rats: effect of Bacopa monnieri and Bacoside-A

Journal of Biomedical Science

Research

Jobin Mathew¹  Sherin Antony²  Savitha Balakrishnan²  CS Paulose²  Pretty Mary Abraham² 

[1] Department of Zoology, CMS College Kottayam, 686 001, Kerala, India;Molecular Neurobiology and Cell Biology Unit, Centre for Neuroscience, Department of Biotechnology, Cochin University of Science and Technology, 682 022, Cochin, Kerala, India;

关键词: Epilepsy;    Bacopa monnieri;    Bacoside-A;    Pilocarpine;    Carbamazepine;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1423-0127-19-25

 received in 2011-08-03, accepted in 2012-02-24,  发布年份 2012

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

ackgroundGamma amino butyric acid (GABA), the principal inhibitory neurotransmitter in the cerebral cortex, maintains the inhibitory tones that counter balances neuronal excitation. When this balance is perturbed, seizures may ensue.MethodsIn the present study, alterations of the general GABA, GABAA and GABAB receptors in the cerebral cortex of the epileptic rat and the therapeutic application of Bacopa monnieri were investigated.ResultsScatchard analysis of [3H]GABA, [3H]bicuculline and [3H]baclofen in the cerebral cortex of the epileptic rat showed significant decrease in Bmax (P < 0.001) compared to control. Real Time PCR amplification of GABA receptor subunits such as GABAAά1, GABAAγ, GABAAδ, GABAB and GAD where down regulated (P < 0.001) in epileptic rats. GABAAά5 subunit and Cyclic AMP responsible element binding protein were up regulated. Confocal imaging study confirmed the decreased GABA receptors in epileptic rats. Epileptic rats have deficit in radial arm and Y maze performance.ConclusionsBacopa monnieri and Bacoside-A treatment reverses epilepsy associated changes to near control suggesting that decreased GABA receptors in the cerebral cortex have an important role in epileptic occurrence; Bacopa monnieri and Bacoside-A have therapeutic application in epilepsy management.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
© Mathew et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2012. This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.